On traveling

I never post vacation or travel photos on Facebook because I think there's an element of "Damn, that rich girl is on vacation again?!" And obviously that is not the type of response I ever hope to elicit.

That being said, I have somehow managed to spend the majority of this so-called presidency abroad. I am not one of those people who joked that I would flee the country if the unthinkable happened--I believe, after all, that the best way to deal with problems at home is to stay at home--but the first half of 2017 has largely coincided with my last semester of medical school, also known as vacation that somehow still requires me to pay tuition.

This could literally be any southern European city, but is Granada, Spain.

My frequent traveling has led for me to be on some sort of Department of Homeland Security list, I think, where I get "SSS" printed on my boarding pass every time I fly back to the U.S. I then have to stand in a separate line at the boarding gate and get my laptop checked, in case it is an explosive. It's really fun! I have loved being the last on the plane so that there is no room in the overhead compartment and being in a situation where people try to steal the window seat I paid extra for.

This could be a generic stock photo of a sunset! But also maybe I took it in Bali. What is reality anyway???

I argued to someone recently that I do not think travel really changes a person because I have been traveling for months and months and feel exactly the same. I have a more lax attitude towards personal hygiene and a comfortable night's rest when I travel for sure, but I would argue that any personal change is also possible with a really good book. That being said, I'm not certain that I could come to the realization that my back cannot handle a Dubai-New York flight or a night in the Barcelona airport unless I actually experienced these things.

"Make America Great Again!" as the hostel owner in Seville said to me, when I asked for an available room in a panic because the booking I made for the night was in Osuna, a town some 60 miles away. I smiled feebly in response.

*In a true side-note, I am enjoying watching The Great British Bake-off!! Why don't we have American shows where the contestants are friendly to one another?